This invention relates to a seating and control arrangement for a small watercraft and more particularly to an improved arrangement for facilitating the seating, operation and entry of a small watercraft.
Small personal watercraft are becoming quite popular. This type of watercraft is frequently designed to be operated by an operator wearing a swimming suit, due to the sporting nature of the type of watercraft. Although such watercraft are designed primarily to accommodate a single rider, there are advantages in being able to permit the rider to accommodate one or more passengers. However, because of the small nature of the watercraft, the seating position for varying numbers of occupants can be very important. That is, if the watercraft is balanced with only a single rider, it is important to insure that the balance of the watercraft can be maintained if more than one rider occupies the watercraft.
It is possible to maintain such balance if the seating arrangement for the watercraft is of the tandem type. However, there are a number of advantages to permitting the rider and his passengers to sit side by side. Maintaining side to side balance with side by side seating arrangements does present some problems.
That is, if the watercraft is balanced with only a single rider and a second rider sits alongside the single rider, then the side to side balance may be disturbed. The copending application of Noboro Kobayashi, entitled "Steering Arrangement For Small Watercraft", U.S. Ser. No. 07/457,553, filed Dec. 27, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,751, issued Apr. 7, 1992, and assigned to the assignee hereof shows a control arrangement for a small watercraft that permits the operator to control the watercraft from a central position when he is the only operator in the watercraft and from a side position when an additional passenger is carried in side by side relationship with the operator. That construction has a number of advantages, as aforenoted.
There are some instances, however, when it is desirable to permit the control of a watercraft from more than one location through a single steering control. However, when the alternate steering positions are chosen, it may also be desirable to provide a different relationship between the steering control and the seat in which the operator is positioned. For example, it may be desirable to provide an arrangement wherein there is a different distance between the steering control and the seat in the alternate seating position. Also, it is desirable to insure that the steering control maintains the same relationship to the seat regardless of the control position.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for the control and seating in a small watercraft.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a control arrangement for a small watercraft that facilitates the operator being able to operate the watercraft from different positions and also wherein the control has the same relationship to the seat in each position but the control and the seat may be spaced different distances in the various positions.
In addition to various side to side positioning of the steering control, it may also be desirable if the height of the steering control may be different.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved steering control for a small watercraft which is movable between a variety of positions and which also is vertically movable.
In connection with the alternate control positions for the watercraft, it also may be desirable to permit the operator to control the watercraft from any of a plurality of positions regardless of whether he has another passenger accompanying him. As has been previously noted, this can adversely effect the side to side balance of the watercraft.
It is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide a hull and seating construction for a small watercraft wherein the operator may operate the watercraft from either a central position or a side position and wherein the hull of the watercraft has adequate buoyancy to permit this without capsizing.
As is noted, the described type of small watercraft is particularly sporting in nature. Frequently the operator and/or passengers may wear swimming suits, may desire to enter the body of water in which the watercraft is operating for the purpose of swimming, and then reenter the watercraft. In addition, it may be desirable to incorporate some arrangement for facilitating such entry either from the body of water in which the watercraft is operating or from the shore or an adjacent dock.
It is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide an improved boarding arrangement for a small watercraft that can be easily carried by the hull of the small watercraft, which will not encroach on the passenger's compartment and which will still provide a neat appearance.
In connection with the boarding of the watercraft, if a separate boarding device is not provided or even if one is, it is desirable to permit a rider to enter the watercraft from the body of water in which the watercraft is operating without having undue tilting of the hull. This is particularly true if one rider may be positioned in the watercraft when another is entering.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for facilitating entry of a passenger onto a small watercraft having a bench type seat and wherein the entry will not cause substantial tilting or leaning of the watercraft.